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AWS Directory Service vs Microsoft Entra ID comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 2, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

AWS Directory Service
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
18th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Entra ID
Ranking in Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
236
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (1st), Authentication Systems (1st), Identity Management (IM) (2nd), Access Management (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) category, the mindshare of AWS Directory Service is 1.3%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID is 26.0%, down from 29.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Entra ID26.0%
AWS Directory Service1.3%
Other72.7%
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

Basa Saiteja - PeerSpot reviewer
A valuable access management system with a user-friendly and straightforward setup
The solution is scalable, and we can scale according to our needs. I rate the scalability a nine out of ten. In our organization, our access to our AWS comes from IAM. We use AWS consoles using our credentials and don't have route access, so each person will log in through our IAM programmatic access, and everyone on our team can work on cloud. Over 10,000 people in our organization utilize the solution.
Bahram Piri - PeerSpot reviewer
Security focus and seamless implementation increase platform productivity
Microsoft Entra ID can be improved in many ways, and there's a big wish list.If we're focusing on security, something that I definitely expect is improvement in the UI and UX for frontline workers. This is important, especially for non-tech savvy individuals. It is something Microsoft Entra ID could do to improve for a wider audience. It's important to focus on the frontline workers since they are non-tech savvy individuals. They are not like those back-office engineering C-level employees who are constantly dealing with computers, and we need to build a specific user experience and user interface for them to handle this stuff. That's something I expect Microsoft to focus on more for Microsoft Entra ID.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I like the manageability. Activate Connect makes it easier to assign information and to manage the resources in the network."
"The solution integrates well with other tools, particularly through single sign-on, allowing users to connect to various applications using just one password, including email."
"Two-step authentication is very useful and important."
"The most valuable feature is that because it's all in the cloud, you don't need to manage the infrastructure."
"The pricing is very good because it is low and there is no management cost."
"We like the fact that it's got such great redundancy."
"AWS has eliminated the downtime we waste when our on-premises resources go down."
"The support is very good. I would rate the technical support as a nine out of ten."
"The most important things of Azure Active Directory are the security and the facility to manage all the services and users. It is very easy to manage users and assign roles, permissions, and access. At the same time, it is a very secure environment. Microsoft takes security very seriously. They take care of all the security and all the factors to prevent any kind of data or information compromise."
"One of the most important is the Conditional Access. It helps affect a Zero Trust strategy positively."
"Identity management with policies stands out as the most valuable feature. It offers a hands-off experience, providing full control over user access."
"I like Entra's ability to integrate the Active Directory with third-party solutions. It's straightforward. I like the ability to define third-party systems and make the AD the primary identity provider."
"Single sign-on is the reason we use AD."
"The portal version of the Azure active directory is pretty robust."
"Azure Active Directory has been very useful for our company, it is not difficult to use."
"Entra ID's ability to sync with the local Active Directory provides redundancy, allowing authentication via cloud features even if the local Active Directory faces issues. The SSO features with app registrations are also crucial, as we use Azure globally, allowing role and permission assignments directly from Entra."
 

Cons

"Some of the security protocols are difficult to understand."
"Our only complaint is that you cannot integrate your Exchange server. Or, if you are planning to install an Exchange server on your Amazon EC2 instance, then you need to configure Active Directory on EC2 instance. We would like for this limitation to be lifted."
"I would like to see better integration with other business solutions."
"The AWS Directory Service should be easier to integrate."
"I would like to grant partial access to a table contained in a database without having to provide full access to the whole database."
"To get CloudWatch to monitor your memory and storage, you have to do some configuration within your server, which sometimes results in errors."
"AWS could improve the number of regions. Azure has passed them. The ned more consistency, as far as the Northeast is concerned."
"AWS Directory Service needs to improve processing."
"I hope, in the roadmap, Microsoft eventually offers the same features as Okta. It will take some more time to mature."
"I would evaluate Microsoft support as three out of ten. Microsoft support does not engage right away."
"Initially, we wanted to exclude specific users from MSA. So, we had a condition policy, which forces MSA for all the users. So we wanted to exclude users who are using an NPS extension. So it was not listed, as a NPS extension was not listed outside an application, in actual, so, we go back and were not able to exclude users using NPS extension from MSA. So that was one limitation that we found and we had to work around that."
"Definitely, the price could be lower. When we moved from AWS to Azure, we started paying more."
"One area that can be improved is ensuring that detailed documentation is being produced in a timely fashion. There have been many instances where documentation either hasn't been updated to reflect recent changes or is either non-existent or not very accessible."
"Azure Active Directory could improve the two-factor authentication."
"The role-based access control can be improved. Normally, the role-based access control has different privileges. Each role, such as administrator or user, has different privileges, and the setup rules for them should be defined automatically rather than doing it manually."
"The automation aspects of Entra ID could be improved, particularly when automating through different providers and SDKs."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing depends because with AWS there are two types of directory objects: 30,000 and 500,000. It varies. AWS provides the pricing calculators so we can get an estimate from there as per the company requirement of how many users and objects that we need to create. So we can go to that portal, put in the data, and get the quotation. There are no extra licensing fees. It's all included."
"We pay an annual subscription fee."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"AWS' pricing is fair, and costs can be cut if you look carefully at when you're using it."
"I think we're on the E3 — I think it was about 35 dollars per user."
"The price is affordable, and we pay around $100 per month."
"Microsoft Azure AD has P1 or P2 licensing options, and it depends on the customer's needs. To use Conditional Access, you need to have the P1 license, and to use the PIN features, you need the P2 license."
"Entra's pricing is somewhat higher compared to AWS."
"It is a packaged license. We have a Premium P1 subscription of Office 365, and it came with that."
"The licensing costs are yearly. There is a standard fee per user."
"Licensing is easy."
"Microsoft Entra ID service can be quite costly due to its hidden expenses linked to usage."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Performing Arts
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Healthcare Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business80
Midsize Enterprise36
Large Enterprise132
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Directory Service?
The pricing is very good because it is low and there is no management cost. You do not need to hire any system administrator to manage your Active Directory.
What needs improvement with AWS Directory Service?
Accessing the data needs improvement. Additionally, integration and compatibility with other AWS ( /products/amazon-aws-reviews ) services, network open LDAP, support for on-premise and cloud envir...
What advice do you have for others considering AWS Directory Service?
I would rate AWS Directory Service nine out of ten. Users need to be aware of how the system works locally to adapt easily to the integration and setup.
How does Duo Security compare with Microsoft Authenticator?
We switched to Duo Security for identity verification. We’d been using a competitor but got the chance to evaluate Duo for 30 days, and we could not be happier. Duo Security is easy to configure a...
What do you like most about Azure Active Directory?
It is very simple. The Active Directory functions are very easy for us. Its integration with anything is very easy. We can easily do third-party multifactor authentication.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory?
The cost of Microsoft Entra ID is around $8 per month, which I find very reasonable.
 

Also Known As

AWS Managed Microsoft AD
Azure AD, Azure Active Directory, Azure Active Directory, Microsoft Authenticator
 

Interactive Demo

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
Microsoft Entre ID is trusted by companies of all sizes and industries including Walmart, Zscaler, Uniper, Amtrak, monday.com, and more.
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Directory Service vs. Microsoft Entra ID and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
873,209 professionals have used our research since 2012.